Viva Las Vegas
by SplishySplash
Summary: March CBPC, Hollywood Connection. Just how much did Doctor Brennan win in Vegas?


1**Title: Viva Las Vegas**

**Rating: Pg**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, just my brain. March's CBPC on Hollywood Connection; My movie that I'm adding to the show is Vegas Vacation also known as National Lampoons Vegas Vacation, staring Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo. And no they do not get married, but Booth wishes that he did. I don't know much about gambling, I'm not quite old enough to do it, yet. I hope you enjoy. **

"So what was the second reason?" Booth asked curiously, standing up from the hotel bed and walking to the window, past the packing forensic anthropologist, staring at the strip.

"What?" She asked, folding her pajamas and placing them neatly into her bag and turning her attention to her partner, her icy blue eyes meeting his dark brown ones.

"You never told me the second reason, the reason that you bet on me." He clarified, moving from the window to Brennan's side, to help her pack.

She shrugged her shoulders and her cheeks held a slight red tint. "It's silly." She said shaking the color from her cheeks, willing it to go away.

"Come on, try me." He pestered, showing a softer version of his charm smile.

Brennan shot him a nervous smile. "Beginners luck." She started slowly. "I haven't lost at anything since I've got here. So I . . . I figured that if I bet on you . . . "

"I couldn't lose." He finished for her. The familiar sensation of his past in Vegas reaching the pit of his stomach, the excitement of winning and the disappointment of losing mixed into one.

"Sounds silly, right?" She asked, a soft smile forming at her lips.

"No, sounds familiar." He corrected, suddenly looking serious. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She whispered, almost inaudibly. She grew uncomfortable at his gaze and shifted nervously on her feet. Zipping her duffle bag, her eyes met his again. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, lets go." He picked up his own duffle bag and headed toward the hotel room door. As his hand met the handle, the watch on his right wrist caught his attention. "We still have two hours until we have to be at the airport, do you want to get some breakfast?"

"That sounds like a good plan." She responded, stopping at the door. Booth pulled out his cell phone to call a cab, only because the rental company had taken back the SUV. "Uh, no need to call a cab."

"You just want to eat here?" He asked, they had, had breakfast there for the past three mornings. "I mean we haven't tried the little Mexican café yet . . . "

"No, I mean we don't have to call a cab." She was almost shy, her hand found its way to her pocket, playing with the contents.

"What do you mean we don't have to call a cab?" He asked, opening the door and stepping into the long hall way.

"Exactly what I said, we don't have to call a cab." Brennan snapped playfully, she pulled the door shut behind her and the two of them walked down the hall to the elevators, he pressed the down button, and waited for it to arrive.

"I don't know what that means." He said, with a confused look to his handsome features.

"That's my line." She responded, and gave a very Booth-like smirk. "And it means exactly what I said it means, we don't need a cab."

"Alright?" He trusted her and her cell phone rang in her pocket.

"Brennan." She said into the mouth piece, still watching her partner with excitement in her eyes.

"Yeah, we are still at the Rio. You just want to meet at café over here?" She listened as the elevator doors opened for them. "Well if he is complaining, we can just meet at the buffet so he can eat as much as he wants. I know, men are babies."

"Hey!" said Booth indignantly, placing his hand on his hips in a very Brennan-like manner.

She shot him a look of amusement. "Yeah, it's him. He's fine, just a little bruise here and there." Again she listened to the person on the other end, Booth held the elevator impatiently. "Listen I have to go, you'll be here in fifteen minutes right? Alright, bye." She placed the phone back into her pocket and stepped into the awaiting elevator.

"Who was that?" He asked, almost as annoyed as the other passengers waiting to go to the ground floor.

"You're not the only one with friends in Vegas, Booth." She said with a sly grin and a raised brow.

"I hate it when you try to be sneaky, Bones." He muttered under his breath, causing her to chuckle. His scowl, turned into a smile. It was good to see her so relaxed, the last couple of months had been hell: finding her mom, Cam being thrown over her, the man who knew the secrets of her family had been killed and the numerous cases that had hit some nerve somewhere. "And your little comment about men being babies was a tad harsh, don't you think?"

"Did I bruise your ego?" She asked, her eyes dancing with laughter. She lightly poked a bruise on his shoulder causing him to wince.

"Ouch, Bones." He said, turning away from his partner and rubbing his arm gingerly. "Don't you remember that little chat we had in New Orleans about you being nicer to me?"

"Of course I remember, I have been nicer to you." She responded as the elevator opened. "I'm proving my point. Men are babies." She walked out of the elevator into the flashing lights, clinking metal and the cheering of random winners filled her ears.

"We are not." He argued, almost glaring at her. "Why else do they put men in the front line during wars?"

"Because anthropologically speaking men have always been seen as warriors fighting for their land, in a sense that women were always seen as the homemakers." She said, she was playing with him, just to make him angry.

"Proving we have a natural tolerance for anything thrown at us." He countered, well aware that she was intentionally trying to make him angry and he was trying his hardest to keep out of it.

"Tolerance for what?" She countered, they had stopped walking and she had her hands resting on her hips.

"You know, high stress and pain." He said, getting in position to argue-his arms folded over his chest.

"You have no idea what stress and pain is, Seeley Booth. Do you have any idea the stress that goes through a woman's body when she is pregnant? And the pain to get something the size of a melon through a hole the size of a quarter, explain that." Brennan challenged, she had a playful glare on her face.

His glare matched hers and as he was about to retort when a crowd of people walked over to the pair. "Are we interrupting something?" It was a familiar voice.

Both turned their head to see Angela, Hodgins and Zack standing next to them with Cheshire grins on their faces. "What are you guys doing here?" Asked Booth, backing away from the doctor.

"We got the rest of the week off, and we thought we'd come visit you before you leave." Answered Angela, her bright smile flashed in the direction of the pair. "Sweetie, looks like you've gotten a nice tan going on there." Giving the doctor the 'once over' checking for signs of anything abnormal.

"We were in the desert when we found the bodies." She shrugged, Booth too looked her over and indeed her skin had gotten darker, for the better. "Are you ready for breakfast?"

Hodgins gave an excited nod. "Nothing like a Vegas buffet to make to arteries clog faster." He said, taking the lead in the direction of the restaurant, Angela and Zack struggling to keep up, leaving Booth and Brennan in the dust.

"He was the one you were referring to, wasn't he?" Asked Booth, pointing at the etymologist standing eagerly in the line.

"No, he was the one Angela was referring to. I am still referring to the male gender as a whole." She said, ready for round two, Temperance Brennan one, Seeley Booth zero. As they walked slowly toward the buffet line.

"Well, we'll come to a compromise." Said Booth with a firm smile. "Not **_all_** men are babies."

She pondered it over, while staring at her partner. "I don't know about that."

"Hodgins and Zack are babies, I am not. We will leave it at that." He elaborated, trying to make a point.

"Alright, only because you did win the fight and didn't come crying to me because you were bruised up." She conceded, her smile showing brightly. That round she considered a draw. She wasn't going to hurt his ego that much.

Booth chuckled loudly. "Seeley Booth ties the game." He said excitedly.

"No, because I forfeited my turn causing a draw, or certainly you will be crying to me." She said with a wicked smile.

"Are you guys going to stand there all day?" Asked a very annoyed Hodgins, who had already paid for the group.

The pair looked at each other and shared a smile. "Coming." They muttered together and walked through the large doors.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon everyone sat at the large table chatting about their journey to Las Vegas. "So tell us about your little undercover mission." Asked Angela, hoping for spicy details.

Booth sat next to Brennan and both had a small smile on their faces. "I was Tony and this here was my fiancee Roxanne." Started Booth, taking a bite of eggs.

"More like engaged to be engaged." She said, her accent returning. "Nothing much after that, Booth had to fight this man named Monroe, and was getting his ass kicked. That is until I stepped in and told him how to beat him."

"But did you have to speak in tongues?" He asked, preparing himself for round three.

She shrugged, but ignored his taunts. "We solved it, and now we are here." She shrugged, taking a bite of her bagel.

"What? No partying on the strip, getting totally drunk and a quicky wedding performed by Elvis?" Asked Hodgins with a smile. Damn, Angela was wearing off on him.

"No, and Elvis is dead." Said Brennan slowly. "But I did get to observe the culture around here. It's quite fascinating . . . " Zack looked interested, but the rest got up to refill their plates, almost as if she had planned it.

"You did that on purpose." Said Zack, almost disappointed that she didn't tell the story.

"How else are they going to stop asking me questions, I don't want Booth to catch on to why you guys are here." She whispered.

"I don't know exactly why I am here either." Answered the future doctor, also in a whisper. "Hodgins woke me up at two thirty this morning and said that we are going to Vegas, and Angela was there standing next to him, hovering over my bed, it was almost a nightmare."

Brennan chuckled as Booth returned with a bowl of ice cream. Her attention went from her assistant to her partner. "Booth, you do know that it is nine-thirty in the morning?" She asked as if reprimanding a child.

"Its noon back in Washington, so it counts." He responded and took a bite of his heavily sprinkled ice cream. Brennan happened to be armed with her spoon, took some of the ice cream from his bowl and placing it into her own mouth. "Hey, you can't tell me off one second for getting ice cream and then eat some yourself."

"You put up a very plausible argument, so I had to concede." She said, again taking another bite as Angela and Hodgins sat down. She gave him that point, Seeley Booth one, Temperance Brennan one. A tie.

"Alright, keno." The entomologist reached across the table and pulled out a keno card from the nicely placed stack and the long black crayon. "Pick three numbers." He said with his cheesy grin.

"No, let Bones fill it out. You might actually win this game." Said Booth with a slight smile. "She has had nothing but luck since she walked into Vegas. How much have you won so far?"

"Four thousand dollars." She said in a small voice, her cheeks red. Hodgins eyes widened and handed her the paper and the crayon, full of hope. Brennan looked surprised. "I don't know about this . . . "

"Dr. B, if your spree suddenly ran out, we only lose five bucks. It's not a big deal." Said Hodgins, everyone but Brennan knew of his fortune and a measly five bucks wasn't going to hurt anybody.

"If you're sure." She said, looking to Booth. She was the only one who knew of his gambling problem, he sent her a reassuring smile. "Ok, everyone pick three numbers."

"36, 69 78." Said Angela first, Brennan marked the squares. "March sixth was my first day at the Jeffersonian, my birthday is June ninth, 1978."

"Well I guess I could do my birthday 8, 25, 80." Said Zack, "You do know the probably of getting all of the numbers is one in three point five billion? It's almost astronomical, a person has a better chance at getting hit by lightning."

"Stop being so negative, Zack." Scolded Hodgins, thinking of his numbers. "21, 45, and lucky 13. And they don't mean anything in particular. " The group looked to Booth for his numbers.

Before he was able tell them that he wasn't playing or couldn't play, Brennan spoke for him. "His numbers are 9,16, 44." She answered, gaining his nod.

"What do those number mean?" Asked Zack.

"My birthday is on the sixteenth of May, I'm not sure what nine or forty-four is." He said, looking at his partner.

"Your son's birthday is the fourth day of the fourth month, September is the ninth month, we became partners two years ago in September." She responded with a slight smile, he nodded, impressed that she knew the two most important days in his life. "I guess my numbers are 10,11,76."

"October eleventh, 1976?" Asked Hodgins, gaining a nod from the doctor. "God, your making me feel old."

Before she could respond, a stout woman was wandering between the tables. "Keno? Keno?" The woman asked. Hodgins handed Brennan a five-dollar bill and waved the woman over. "Keno?"

"Yes, here." Answered Brennan, her nervousness creeping back.

"Fifteen numbers, five dollars. Alright, I'll be back with your card." Said the woman, her name-tag identifying her as Marisa. Sure enough, Marisa returned not long from the keno desk. "Good luck."

The five sat at their table waiting for the numbers shown. Booth and Brennan were sharing the bowl of ice cream, Angela started intently at the flashing board and Zack and Hodgins were playing an intense game of intense tic-tac-toe on the back of a random place mat. "It's starting." Squeaked Angela in excitement.

Zack pulled out the keno rule card. "The minimum number we have to match is two . . . " He started to read off.

"Shut up, Zack." Three of the four members, and glaring from the other one, muttered as the numbers began to light up.

_8, 44,78, 22_

The group gave a small cheer, three numbers had already shown up. All looked to Zack who still had the keno card in his hand. "One hundred dollars. Twenty bucks each." Ten sets of eyes returned to the board.

_14, 9, 6, 13, 80_

The eyes turned back to Zack. "That's seven numbers, which equals to six thousand dollars. Twelve hundred dollars each." He said excitedly.

_21,69,25,49,36_

They didn't even look to Zack to know that they had just won a large sum of money, and only had four numbers to go before they won the jackpot.

_45, 7, 10, 11, 76_

All fifteen numbers were called. They all stood up cheering, along with the surrounding tables that could hear their commotion. Marisa returned with a huge smile on her face. "Looks like you've got some lucky charm with you today."

"Yes we do." Said Booth, watching his partner.

Angela pulled Brennan into a hug first, whispering excitedly in to her ear. Followed by Hodgins and Zack together. "Oof." She muttered excitedly in between the weight. When they let go, she was swept up into her partners arms, the familiar warmth welcomed her. Her arms around his neck, his around her waist and her feet were off the ground, his face buried into her hair and hers into his neck.

The pair stood like that, until three men in dark suits walked over to the table. "Looks like we have some winners." Said the tallest, wearing the darkest colored suit. Booth sat Brennan back down on to her feet, but kept his hands firmly on her waist.

"Congratulations." Said the second man, wearing the grey suit. "If you would come with us, we would like to discuss your winnings." The third man had a smile on his face, his strawberry blonde hair looked familiar, said nothing.

"Alright." Said Angela, the first to find her voice. The group followed the three men out of the buffet, leaving a bunch of wide-eyed buffet goers. "Do you know who the one with the blue suit is?" She asked Brennan in a rushed whisper.

"No." Answered she responded, her hand still held Booths tightly. Booth's eyes went wide, he too recognized the blue suited man.

"That was Donald Trump."

The group left the Rio Grande Hotel main offices an hour later and each six hundred thousand dollars richer and each had a huge grin on their faces as they headed for the main doors to the strip. Booth held his partner's small hand tightly in his own larger one, and out of excitement of the day, no one mentioned the small amount of affection between the partners.

Booth looked at his watch, reading eleven after eleven. "We missed our flight." He said, not too bothered by the fact.

"That's alright, I've got it covered." Said Brennan, she was glowing with excitement. Booth had noticed that she was acting sneaky, a trait he had learned to dislike. Her dislike of surprises had began to seep into him.

They stopped in the large lobby and waited for the concierge to bring not only their luggage, but also Zack, Angela and Hodgins' luggage. Dr. Temperance Brennan was planning something, and he didn't know what it was and again was driving him mad.

Gathering their things, they walked out the large oak doors to the large valet parking lot. Brennan handed the Hispanic man a ticket and spoke in a rapid, flawless Spanish, who turned to speak to two of the other valet drivers and the three left. "Did you get another rental car?" Asked Booth, squeezing her hand.

She only shrugged, Angela and Hodgins shared a smile. They were in on it too, Booth gathered, though the kid had no clue as to what was going on.

The first man came back in a shiny new black Lexus, followed by a dark-blue Landrover Sport and a red Cadillac convertible parked nicely in a row. "_Muchas Gracias_." She muttered as they handed her the keys, she turned to the rest. "How long does it take to drive to Washington, D.C. from here?"

Booth's eyes widened. "This is yours?" Taking notice to the Lexus, he was in awe and didn't notice the other two vehicles.

"Actually all three of them are." She said with a small smile, watching his eyes light up in delight as a child at Christmas. He wasn't alone, Angela had squealed at the sight of the convertible, Hodgins was just plain excited and Zack looked like an excited puppy.

"She won them, dude." Said Hodgins, saving him from asking the questions later.

His brown eyes shot to her blue ones. "You won these?" He asked, setting his bag on the curb. She gave a shy nod and her cheeks flushed a deep crimson and in two large steps he had his hands on her cheeks, his lips met hers in a brief, yet passionate kiss. Angela's sigh was heard over the random cars idling in the garage. "When did this happen?"

"That night." She said out of breath, her cheeks even darker. "I couldn't sleep, and I sort of won them." The confident woman was suddenly shy, Booth watched with slight amusement.

"That is more than sort of won them, Bones." He said with an excited smile on his face, his arms held her tightly. "God where were you ten years ago when I needed you."

"I was twenty and still working on my undergrad." She said with a smile. "Not old enough to gamble."

"I just got into high school." Muttered Zack from behind the pair.

Booth laughed, and placed his forehead on hers. "God you're amazing." He whispered causing her to giggle.

"Are we going to go sometime soon?" Shouted Hodgins, who was smacked by Angela. "What? We need to get going, or we will hit traffic somewhere."

"Hodgins, we don't have to be back till Monday." Said Angela. "We still have five days to get back."

Brennan tossed two sets of keys in the direction of the artist and entomologist. "Lets hit the road then." She said with a smile.

"Good analogy, Bones." Booth said, proof that he had been rubbing off on the great Temperance Brennan.

She flashed the last key at her partner and with a wicked grin, she pulled out of his grip, running to the Lexus and before he could argue, she shouted, "I'm driving."


End file.
